Unlike Quirky and similar sites, we don't evaluate the merit of which ideas are made available to our community. (To be clear, we do make sure that the project is not illicit, illegal or immoral. See our Terms & Conditions to learn more.) We also don't assume any rights to any intellectual property submitted, nor do we decide which ideas should become products. Instead we let our community determine if an idea is viable, and then give Creators unique access to experts and services to help them take the next steps to commercialize their products.

If a campaign does not meet its funding goal, Backers will not be charged anything.

When a campaign meets a funding goal of $1000 or more and is ended by the Creator, Backers' provided credit cards are charged for their full pledge amount. After a successful campaign, Creators have two choices: 1) The raised funds* can be transferred to a provided US or Canadian bank account or Paypal® account typically within 5-10 business days after the campaign has been ended by the Creator, or 2) Apply raised funds* towards services and products from our Partners. To receive these services and products with exclusive ProductRocket-only offers, the Creator must select this option and direct ProductRocket to release the funds directly to the selected Partner(s). * Less credit card processing fees and ProductRocket's 5% fee. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions page.

With sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, the goal is really for Creators to raise as much money as possible. The goal of ProductRocket is to get as many Backers as possible. It's a big difference that we think is important on many levels. For one, while raising as much money as possible sounds exciting and logical, in fact it often results in immense pressure for the Creator and frustration for the Backers. Deadlines are often missed or products are never delivered at all. If they are shipped, many products don't live up to the promise because they were developed under incredibly challenging circumstances. Sadly, trust and goodwill between Creators and Backers can eventually evaporate despite good intentions on both sides. ProductRocket is different. Our goal is reduce this unnecessary tension and return back to the fundamental reason why crowdfunding began: To enable a community to support great new ideas. Because pledges are a fixed, small amount, a Backer's financial risk is greatly minimized. For a ProductRocket Backer, it's about supporting great ideas with the added bonus of being the first to receive the product at a discount if and when it ships. For the Creator, it's not about raising a lot of money, at least not yet. It's more about learning if there is true market interest and demand for their idea. They can then wisely use that information (without the tremendous stress of rushed manufacturing and distribution) to begin mapping out their idea's future. We believe that unlike typical crowdfunding sites, our process leads to smarter decisions, better products, and ultimately a better experience for both Creators and Backers.

We believe being a Backer on ProductRocket is about supporting great ideas. Pledges are a fixed, small amount to minimize a Backer's financial risk. But because supporting a campaign on ProductRocket does require some form of financial committment on the part of the Backer, we believe it is more meaningful than say, simply upvoting a product.